


Bound

by Amine13



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-11-14 00:30:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18042005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amine13/pseuds/Amine13
Summary: Bound by religion. Bound by promise. Bound by duty.The Imperial Empire had hidden the rest of the world from Thedas- that was until the Breach was discovered and it threatened the rest of the world.(I've just taken some events and characters and made it really OOC and put it into my own kind of 'story'. All characters and events belong to BioWare.(Characters and places you don't recognize from the games are obviously my own stuff.))





	1. Prologue

The cold, winter wind of Johunmu bit at the soldiers’ gloveless fingertips. It nipped at the top of their ears and made their eyes water; it did not matter how cold it got, they had to keep marching through Johunmu, to its harbour, and then, at last, back home.

The war with the Ravandickans had lasted a tiring, freezing four years. Normal Ravandick winters were bitter and lasted one-third of the year- but the Ravandickan Shamans had cursed their own country in the EverWinter: it had not stopped snowing since Arkadian Navy battleships had been seen off the shore of Liyet. The Shamans had thought that prolonging their unforgiving winter would threaten the Arkadian soldiers- enough for them to run back to their desert homes- but the Shamans had been mistaken and the Arkadians had well overstayed their welcome.

The soldiers had fought through the ice and snow and howling wind. The Ravandickans had not expected to meet the Arkadians in battle; their ForeSeers hadn’t done their job well and had not foreseen how savage the Arkadians could be. They had burnt cities to the ground, flattened out entire villages, and had completely crippled the Ravandickan army.

While the Ravandickans faced enormous losses, the Arkadians were not invincible. The Ravandickans had not stepped foot on the Empire’s land, but they did blow up half of their fleet, worn out their soldiers and both sides’ magick had been exhausted. 

So now, with no clear outcome, the war was seemingly coming to an end. The soldiers were leaving through Johnumu’s harbour, where portals back to the Citadel, the capital of the Arkadian Empire, could be constructed.

The Arkadian Empire’s commanders had told their soldiers that they could be assured that this was not a retreat, but many doubted their words and rumours ran riot throughout the army’s ranks.

One soldier who doubted their Emperor was a young Rietvald. He thought all of this was bullshit. In his opinion, the Emperor could do no wrong and would never back down to the Ravandickan King- it was implausible.

Rietvald was correct- the Emperor had not ordered a retreat. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. The soldiers in Ravandick had not received word of the goings on in the capital.

The Emperor was dead.


	2. Letter #1 from 'Letters from the Greater Arkadian Desert"

Dear Gen, 

I meant what I said. If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Even if I didn't want to I would have to. I swore an oath to the Lord and swore upon the Nyl.

I’m truly sorry. Really. I was just… is angry the right word? I think furious would be the more appropriate term. 

You swore an oath to me and I to you- you have broken that sacred promise. To have done this, to me, to everyone?

What you have done is sacrilege. 

I do not think I will ever be able to forgive you. Forgiveness is not a commonly used word in this unforgiving desert. I am sorry about what I have done and more so about what you have done. To side with him, of all people. 

Now you are forbidden from visiting I (or is it the other way round?) for an indefinite amount of time. Perhaps we shall never meet again. Perhaps that will be the best option for the both of us.

If you are to respond or not- I think, either way, it shall break my heart.

Yours forever,  
Lady Witness of Prydon


	3. The Arkadian Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set two years before the prologue.

Gloriana Victoria Anastasia Valentina Hila of the House Long Barrow despised her name. After all, what’s in a name? A lot apparently, that’s why she had seven. She didn’t see the point in having such a long name when one would be more efficient. No one even called her Gloriana Victoria Anastasia Valentina Hila to her face or in everyday conversation. Everyone just used Gloriana-her friends had tried to nickname her Glori. It didn't stick. 

Gloriana pondered over this while she travelled back to her home city, Nova Azur. Sitting in the increasingly more humid air of her carriage, she thought about opening a window, but during the past few weeks, the Great Arkadian Desert had been wracked with storms. Opening a window would let her cool down, but she didn’t fancy a mouthful of sand. She’d have to take off some layers of her dress. She easily had about five layers on, probably more. She was even wearing a cage crinoline and a corset. Whoever thought that this was good to wear in their country? It’s not normal. She was sure other countries didn’t bother with such fashion. Gloriana didn't understand the need for such silly fashion; a simple dress would be enough.

The carriage was void of people part her. Gloriana had taken off her white wig (she could swear it got increasingly taller each time she had to wear it) and thrown it into a corner. Now the only problem she had was how to strip off a layer or two. She took off the first layer of her dress. It was less of a layer and more like a jacket or something; she was no fashionista and did not care for their specific names. While she continued to examine her clothes and how she could strip off more, the carriage began to slow down until it eventually stopped. 

“Your Highness?” a voice from behind her silently called out. In her curiosity, she leaned forward across the carriage and opened the window that led to the carriage driver. 

“Yes? Is there a problem, Graham? Why have we stopped?”. However, before he could answer, the door to the carriage opened and an obscured face popped in. The face was obscured by a black helmet that covered the entire head and face - one Gloriana recognised. 

The Azuran Guard.

Had she done something wrong? Was someone dead? Another brother maybe?

The Guard mumbled something and closed the door. Gloriana, knowing full well that curiosity killed the cat, got up and went to open the door, however she found she was unable to. The door could only be locked from the inside, so one of the Azuran Guard was holding it shut. Where they trying to hide something from her? Not to be obnoxious or anything, Gloriana was the only important person here. Everybody else was either a guard or a servant.

If the Azuran Guard thought they could keep her in this carriage, they were wrong. Gloriana was returning from military school and had spent the last fifteen years of her nearly-eighteen-year long life. She may not look like much, but she had had the validium ‘treatment’. They may be bigger than her but she had unbreakable bones.-

Before she could finish thinking about what she was going to say when the journalists would come to ask her about the situation, the door was wrenched opened and she ungracefully fell out of the carriage and onto the sand. That was not very ladylike of her.

Beginning to push herself up off the ground, she looked up to see everyone looking at her. The Azuran Guard with their nondescript faces- or would it be helmets?- and her father’s servants, who, after a moment of shock, came rushing towards her to help her up and brush off the sand on her dress. 

“I demand to know why the Azuran Guard is here, stopping my carriage. Do you know who I am? I am the Princess Gloriana Victoria Anastasia Valentina Hila of the House Long Barrow and let me tell you when my father finds out you have delayed us on our journey home, he shall not be happy.” Lifting her chin up, she crossed her arms and looked at where she thought the Guards eyes would be. She could not lie, their uniforms unsettled her; in a couple of months, she might also have to wear one. That thought worried her tremendously. Her future was uncertain right now, she could be anything and be anyone, but only in this moment. Those with powers greater than her were deciding what she was to be and what she was to do. These final weeks were perhaps her final weeks of freedom.

But was she ever free to begin with?

For a time she was, Gloriana thought, for a couple of years after she was born, until that great pillock of an Emperor (who was totally off his head) had decided, in all his paranoid power, that the youngest of each royal, noble and aristocratic family were to be sent away to one of the two military schools the Empire owned outside the borders of the Empire.

But alas, she digressed from the present situation.

One of the Azuran Guards had also stepped forward to help her off the ground. His or her hand was still holding onto her upper arm, but Gloriana, who , for the record, had minimal training in court etiquette, swatted his or her hand away and provided them with no thanks. 

“Your Highness,” the Guard with a gold pauldron on his or her left shoulder spoke, “we do not mean to intrude or delay you and your caravan, but General Devlin has a message he wishes to convey with you. It seems that Lieutenant Wolfert did not recognise your visage.” Several of the Azuran Guard’s swiveled to look at the Guard that had stuck his head into her carriage. “I am Captain Delgray with the seven hundred and sixth Azuran Guard. Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you on your conscription into the seven hundred and seventh Azuran Guard.” This was news to her. Clearly, they thought that she had received her papers telling her which part of the military she was to go to; to say she was shocked would be an understatement. 

Gloriana stumbled backward and went to sit on the steps of her carriage with her head in her hands. 

“And secondly?” 

The captain turned his head slightly sideways, seemingly to get the approval of one of the others, and continued. “Secondly, we need to reroute your caravan- well depending on the way you’re going. Might I ask which way you are going?”

“Nova Azur.”

“Oh...I guess you can carry on on your way, Your Highness. When you enter Nova Azur you need to go straight to the Azuran Guard. It seems your celebrations for graduation will have to wait. General Devlin and the Emperor have decided that the seven hundred and fifth, sixth and seventh Azuran Guard are to go to Thedas, to deal with the Blight. We’ll explain everything later, at the Guard. For now, you should make sure you get to Nova Azur as fast as you can.”

At this, Gloriana became slightly annoyed. How dare this man interrupt her journey and then speak to her like that? Whatever, she thought. She won’t be seeing her father anytime soon.

Her father’s servants helped her up and back into the carriage. She turned around one more time to say something snarky to the Azuran Guard, but they had already gone, vanished into the sands of the Greater Arkadian Desert.


	4. Letter #2 of 'Letters from the Greater Arkadian Desert'

Dear Papa,

Unfortunately, I will not be able to join you tonight for dinner. Or tomorrow. Or the day after. Or for a very long time. But I digress.

I write this letter to you as we ride through the desert back to Nova Azur. I should be meeting you as soon as I get there, however, during our journey home our caravan was stopped by the Azuran Guard and it soon became apparent that I have been enlisted by the Guard. Furthermore, I was told by the Guard that as soon as I was to arrive at Nova Azur I was to go straight to the Guard Headquarters for something- I know not yet if I will be able to tell you why, but it seems to be of the most utmost importance and will take me away from you and home for upwards to a year, perhaps more.

I apologise greatly for my sloppy handwriting-who knew it would be so hard to write in a moving coach?

I send you all my love. Do not be selfish by keeping it all to yourself- give some to my brothers (your sons, do not forget).

Your favourite and only daughter,  
Gloriana

P.S Please give some money to whichever stable boy I pass this to give to you, I have no money with me.


	5. The Azuran Guard

As the shadow of Nova Azur loomed over them, Gloriana mused over her impending doom. Though, to be fair she was exaggerating a bit. The Azuran Guard couldn’t actually as bad as everyone in school said it was, could it? 

School-she was going to miss it.

The Azuran Guard was feared by most of the Empire’s population-they were shadowy figures that towered over most people. They wore black armour made of the rare metal validaium, which covered every inch of skin-they seemed to have no faces and their voices, on the rare occasion that they spoke, were warped and unrecognisable. The entire point of the armour was to keep the Guard members anonymous-though they were instantly recognisable to everyone, even if you lived in the most remote areas of the Empire. Validaium was only found in the mountains around Nova Azur, where the Guard took their name from and was only permitted to be worn by the Azuran Guard which differentiated them from the Royal Guard and the City Guard.

It was also one of the most dangerous jobs in the Empire. To be in the Azuran Guard was seen as a curse by those in it: to have to protect the whole Empire from bad decisions made by the Emperor was hard, especially when he threatened to kill anyone who came near him.

Gloriana was not excited to join the Guard, to say the least.

Their caravan slowed down as they reached the golden gates to Nova Azur; only second to the Citadel, Nova Azur was the definition of worldly beauty. Its wards and gates, which encompassed the city, were a shimmering gold that protected the city from dust storms, desert worms and sand fiends. 

As they were permitted through the gates, Gloriana wondered about how she had forgotten the city’s beauty. There was not one building that didn’t scream stunning- each one was made from Novanium (another metal only found in the mountains around Nova Azur) which reflected the sun and sky off their walls and roofs. When there was a celebration and fireworks lit the sky, the buildings reflected them too-they were mirrors that hid nothing of Nova Azur and everything of those who resided inside. It was a shame that Gloriana didn’t have enough time to fully appreciate them. 

Her carriage split from the caravan as they drew nearer to the centre of the lower town area of Nova Azur and towards the Azuran Guard headquarters. The headquarters were taller than any of the buildings surrounding them and were made of validium, the same metal that the Guard’s armour was made out of. This made the building heat up incredibly fast, though if you lived out here in the middle of the Great Arkadian desert and couldn’t handle a few more degrees of heat, this wasn’t really the best place to live. Gloriana thought that the building was just as intimidating as the Guard and that, she thought, was a pretty high standard to fill.

There was a crowd in front of the Guard, its chatter reached far and grew louder the closer the carriage got. Their conversations sounded angry, or at least frustrated, and it was concerning. Why were they angry with the Guard?

Pulling to a stop, the carriage door swung open and Gloriana more or less fell out. As she began to right herself, a few people came forward to help her. She recognised these people, they were friends from school-her five ‘best’ (or at least closest) friends. 

The first person to have reached her was Neveah Aaronavich, a rare blonde-haired girl from the most northern parts of the Empire. Her father was a Gregoriavan prince from Yoshol and a good friend of Gloriana's grandfather. She was, in Gloriana's opinion, most likely to be Valedictorian. She hoped Neveah would be, she was perhaps the smartest person she knew. She took shit from no one, not the teachers, not her parents, and definitely not her enemies.

Secondly was Edward Havaldar- a young man from the Santignory family House, one of the two adversaries to the Long Barrow family House. Despite this, Gloriana thought that Edward was a good man, unlike his family, the best example of not judging a book by its cover. He too was very intelligent. Completely mental when fighting, but so very calm when off the battlefield. Edward was a big man, with muscles that even Athelia the Great would be challenged by, but it wasn’t his nature to fight. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He was a product of his environment, Gloriana guessed. A shame.

Next was Lucillia ‘Lucy’ Rockehfellar, a young woman part of the House Long Barrow and a distant cousin of Gloriana. She was boisterous and wore bright, clashing colours and a numerous amount of piercings in her ears, eyebrows, nose, lips, and other places not polite to talk about in proper conversation. Lucy was the other girl in Gloriana's squad and one of the most drugged up people she knew. If she wasn’t on Blu, she would be on Sugar or smoking something new.

The other two men who came forward to help (albeit their efforts were in vain) were Francois ‘Frogs’ Brisendine and Zachariah Trelonius; they were the other two in her squad and were the absolute antithesis of each other. Frogs was loud, genuinely hilarious and fell in love with anyone who he thought was pretty. His current boyfriend was oblivious to the fact and didn’t get it when he saw Frogs mooning over models who walked past. Gloriana didn’t think it would last.

Zachariah was quiet, watching people all the time. They had all known each other since they were toddlers, and yet Val knew little about his life and family, only knowing about him through his family name and his school scores. One thing she knew for sure was that he was an exceptionally good student and someone not to be messed with.

After all the commotion had calmed down, the six of them just ended up staring at each other, silently.

Surprisingly, Zachariah spoke first, ‘So, you all ready to be an Azuran Guard?’

‘No,’ said Lucy, ‘I’d rather not be for alas I have better things to be doing. I’m twenty-one, what am I? A child soldier?’ Lucy started chuckling to herself, at herself. Her ancestors would be turning in their graves.

‘You’re not funny Lucy, get a life.’ Frogs jabbed at her in the ribs. The two ‘adults’ went back on forth with this shot cycle of abuse until Edward stood between them and poked them both in ribs before telling them to stop being embarrassing. Why did Gloriana know these people? 

Suddenly, the crowd around them became silent, some shushing those who hadn’t received the memo. The humongous dark doors that led to the Guard’s HQ had opened and three men- or women- in Azuran Guard uniforms stood above them at the top of a very large and steep set of stairs. 

The Guards said something, but Gloriana was too far away to have heard anything. The crowd started to move up the stairs, and so Gloriana and her friends started to move with the flow of the crowd, into the Azuran Guard. Gloriana did not like this, not one bit.


	6. Letter #3 of 'Letters from the Greater Arkadian Desert'

Giovanni,

You must be on your best behaviour while I am away. I know this might be hard for you, but at least stay out of trouble in the public eye, DO NOT embarrass/humiliate/shame our family while I am gone. I swear to The Lord if you do anything (ANYTHING) that turns our family into a joke I will personally (PERSONALLY) cover you in pitch and set you alight. 

Before you ask, I cannot tell you where I am going or why so do not bother questioning me. Hopefully, I will not be gone long. 

Your ever loving sister (who isn’t all that younger than you)

Gloriana

P.S. Feed my dogs while I am gone, I’ll be taking Wrath and Pride with me, but please,please for the love of The Lord feed and walk and just look after Princess for me. And Queenie. And Fluffy.


End file.
